Jonathan Lynch

Jonathan Lynch

Selective breeding of maize over the last century to create hybrids with desirable shoot characteristics and increased yield may have contributed indirectly to the evolution of root systems that are more efficient in acquiring nutrients, such as nitrogen, from the soil, according to researchers.

With support from a $5 million grant from the U.S. Agency for International Development, an international team led by Jonathan Lynch, professor of plant nutrition in Penn State's College of Agricultural Sciences, will establish the Feed the Future Innovation Lab for Climate-Resilient Beans. The project will employ novel techniques to accelerate breeding programs for common bean aimed at conferring traits that can increase yield under heat and drought stress.

Jonathan Lynch has made a name for himself doing ground-breaking (pun intended) research on the roots of bean and soybean plants in an effort to improve crop yields in places such as Africa, Asia and Latin America. The professor of plant nutrition in Penn State's College of Agricultural Sciences has worked with colleagues in China, Africa and Latin America to develop bean and soybean varieties with better root systems that produce better yields in low-phosphorus soils -- work that has major implications for the developing world.

Black beans, navy beans, kidney beans, pinto beans, snap, green, string, wax, butter beans - all, to a breeder, are varieties of the common bean, Phaseolus vulgaris. It's a staple crop for small and subsistence farmers the world around, yet it grows with varying success. The average yield in some developing countries—500 kilograms per hectare, or less—is often a mere 10 percent of the textbook yield.